


donne moi ma chance, tu verras

by QuietLittleVoices



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Carpool, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roller Derby, F/F, First Kiss, Getting Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 02:16:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11887803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuietLittleVoices/pseuds/QuietLittleVoices
Summary: Morgana offers to drive Gwen to and from roller derby practise. There's coffee, and lunch, and annoying roommates.





	donne moi ma chance, tu verras

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written fic in about 5000 years (really, about a year). I also have never written Morgana/Gwen. So, go easy on me, and enjoy!
> 
> Title means 'give me my chance, and you'll see'. It's from 'Celui' by Colonel Reyel.
> 
> Derby term(s) in the end notes.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

Gwen jumped and looked up from her phone as Morgana sat on the steps next to her. “Uh, kind of,” she said, fidgeting with her phone. “My roommate said he’d pick me up but…” she gestured to the nearly empty parking lot to their right and the lack of cars in front of the arena. She was sure that he had forgotten, because she’d been waiting out front for an hour after her practise had ended. Long enough, obviously, that the practise for the higher-level girls had ended as well.

“Where do you live? Maybe I can drive you home if you think he’s just forgotten,” Morgana offered.

Gwen told her the address and Morgana nodded.

“That’s on my way.” She stood up, hauling her gym bag over her shoulder and smiled down at Gwen. “So, do you want a ride? Or do you think your roommate is going to show up?”

Gwen smiled back at her and picked up her bag, feeling slightly unsteady on her feet after doing 27/5 (she could only get 22 and a half, but felt good about it anyway because she’d only started skating that year).

Morgana lead Gwen to her car. “How are you liking roller derby?” she asked.

Gwen smiled. “I love it. My coworkers all thought I was crazy when I signed up for this - I think they think I’m too ‘weak’ for it, but I don’t know. I thought it sounded fun and I’ve been meaning to work out more, anyway. I think I’m doing okay, too, but sometimes I see what you and the other girls on the team can do, and I’m kind of in awe? I don’t know if I’d be able to do that.”

Morgana unlocked the car and let her into the passenger seat. “You’re doing great, Gwen. Don’t measure yourself against the girls who have been doing this for years - honestly, when I first started, I thought I wouldn’t be able to, either. But…” she shrugged. “I’m on the team now, aren’t I?”

Gwen nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

They kept chatting while Morgana drove her home, and Gwen learnt that Morgana had been in the league for five years, which made her feel slightly less bad about not being at the level of her and the other girls on the team.

“Well, this is me,” Gwen said as Morgana pulled up to the curb in front of her apartment building.

Just as she was closing the door, Morgana called after her. “Do you want me to drive you to practise on Saturday? Your on my way there, anyway.”

Gwen smiled. “I’d like that, thanks.”

Morgana handed Gwen her phone. “Put your number in and I’ll text you before I come by, alright?”

Gwen did as she said and then shut the door, waving as Morgana drove away. The elevator in her building was perpetually broken, so she had to drag her tired body up five flights of stairs before pushing her way into her apartment.

“You better have ordered take out while I was gone,” Gwen called as she walked in, and immediately saw Merlin and his boyfriend, Arthur, on the sofa watching Lord of the Rings. Luckily, they weren’t making out. She’d walked in on that too many times to count and Merlin would never be able to make up the debt he owed her for that.

“Oh, shit, I was supposed to pick you up, wasn’t I?” Merlin said, pushing himself up and off the sofa. “It won’t happen again, I promise.” He’d promised that before.

Gwen shook her head. “Don’t worry about it,” she said, and explained what had happened with Morgana. “There’d better be food on the table by the time I get out of the shower, though,” she warned, finally making her way back to her bedroom where she could air out her disgusting, sweaty gear and grabbed a pair of soft, clean pyjamas.

She took a long, hot shower, trying to sooth her muscles as much as she could, even though she knew she would be sore when she woke up, anyway. Her phone chirped from the pile of her clothes, and when she checked it after she was done, it was a text from an unknown number that said  _ This is Morgana _ , with a smiley face emoji, so she added it to her contacts. 

Clearly Merlin did have some instinct towards self-preservation, because there  _ was _ food on the table when she got out of the shower. He pushed one of the boxes towards her and she ate it quickly.

 

Gwen woke up on Saturday to a text from Morgana.

_ Do you want coffee? _

Gwen smiled at her phone and replied as she rolled out of bed and started to get ready for practise. 

Merlin was still asleep or absent Morgana texted her saying she was out front, so she left him a note and made her way down the many stairs.

“Good morning,” she said, slipping into the passenger side of the car.

Morgana smiled at her tiredly. “How can you be so… chipper before coffee?”

Gwen shrugged and accepted the cup that Morgana was holding out. “I’ve always been a morning person,” she admitted, taking a sip of her coffee and settling back into the seat.

Morgana sighed and shook her head, taking a sip of her coffee. “I don’t like sleeping in,” she admitted, “but I’m absolutely not a morning person.”

 

“Do you want to get lunch?” Morgana asked as they got into her car.

“We’re… kind of gross, don’t you think?” Gwen asked, turning up her nose as the AC turned on and she could smell herself.

Morgana shrugged. “Better that there’s two of us, then. But if you don’t want to, I understand,” she added quickly.

“No, no I want to!” Gwen assured her, and then felt herself blush because she may have said that too quickly. “Where were you thinking?”

“It’s a bit of a drive but there’s this place with the  _ best _ Indian food,” she said. “If you’d like that?”

“Yeah, I would.”

 

“You were gone a long time,” Merlin said accusingly when Gwen finally got home.

She blushed. “Morgana wanted to get lunch.”

“Is that who drove you home on Tuesday? Morgana?”

Gwen looked at him questioningly as she walked past him and into her room to deposit her gear. “Yes?”

Merlin followed her and flopped down on her bed. “Do you like her?”

Gwen sighed and grabbed clean clothes. “This isn’t middle school. And get off my bed.”

“That wasn’t a no!” he called after her.

 

Gwen and Morgana fell into a routine after that. On Saturdays, Morgana would turn up with coffee, and they traded off choosing places for lunch. Regardless of who’s week it was, they ended up at the Indian place they’d first gone too a few times, because it really was amazing.

“I know it’s your week,” Morgana started before Gwen had even sipped her coffee, almost two months after starting their carpool, “but my brother wants to introduce me to his boyfriend and I couldn’t say no, because I’ve been waiting for this for  _ months _ .”

Gwen laughed lightly. “That’s fine, I understand.” She was slightly disappointed, because Merlin was going out for lunch with Arthur so she would be returning to an empty apartment, but she tried not to let on to Morgana what she was feeling. The truth was, she’d started looking forwards to their lunches - she hadn’t had much luck in terms of dating in a long time, and though these weren’t dates, Morgana was extremely attractive ( _ and funny, and nice, and basically perfect, _ her mind supplied) and it was a good way to tide herself over until she found someone within her own league - so missing out on one was putting a damper on her plans for the day.

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Maybe we can do dinner instead? I can give you all my family gossip,” Morgana offered.

Gwen felt her heart skip a beat. “Uh, yeah - yes, I mean. Yes, I’d like that.”

Morgana grinned over at her quickly before returning her eyes to the road. “Great. I’ll come by around six? Does that work for  you?”

Gwen nodded. “That sounds perfect.”

 

“Are you going on a date?” Merlin asked that evening when Gwen started to get ready.

“No,” she said quickly, though her blush betrayed her.

“Liar.”

Gwen sighed and kept digging through her closet. She was trying to decide between something completely casual and something that was a bit nicer. She settled on her best pair of jeans and a nice shirt that she knew was flattering without being too flashy or over-the-top. “Morgana just wants to make up for missing lunch today, that’s all.”

“Yeah, sure. Also, I’ve been meaning to tell you, Arthur’s sister is named Morgana. I met her at lunch today.”

Gwen paused. “She said she had lunch with her brother and his boyfriend.”

“Small world, right? It’s weird.”

“I’ll ask her, but yeah - seems like too much a coincidence.” She pulled on her clothes and stepping out into the hall where Merlin was waiting.

He gave her a thumbs up. “Good choice.”

“Do you actually think this is a date?” she asked, suddenly nervous.

Merlin shrugged. “I don’t know, but you might as well try.”

 

Morgana was, in fact, Arthur’s sister.

“Small world,” Morgana said after Gwen told her.

“That’s what Merlin said, too.”

They were at a fairly run-of-the-mill sit down restaurant, so Gwen felt good about her clothing choice for the evening. Morgana was dressed similarly, in jeans and a t-shirt, but she was absolutely stunning. She looked good in the mornings in her gym clothes, and kind of gross but still kind of hot after practise, but clean and in proper, regular clothing? She took Gwen’s breath away.

“I was going to tell you about my lunch, but I guess you heard all about it from Merlin, didn’t you?” Morgana said after they’d ordered their food.

Gwen laughed. “Yeah - he liked you, by the way.”

Morgana smiled. “Good. He’s the best partner Arthur’s had in a long time.”

Halfway through the meal, Gwen’s resolve broke.

“Is this a date?” she asked, and then immediately wanted to take the words back when Morgana paused.

Morgana put her fork back down. “If you’d like it to be,” she finally answered.

“I would,” Gwen replied quickly. “I really would.”

Morgana smiled, small and warm. “Good, because I’d like that too.”

 

Gwen paused when they were stopped in front of her apartment building. “So… see you on Tuesday?”

“Or we could get lunch tomorrow,” Morgana suggested.

Gwen smiled. “I’d like that.” She didn’t get out of the car. “Can I…” she paused and bit her lip. “Can I kiss you?”

“ _ Please _ ,” Morgana answered, already undoing her seatbelt so she could lean over. Gwen closed the distance and smiled against her mouth, feeling a bit like a teenager trying not to get caught by her dad as she ran her hand through Morgana’s hair and kissed her harder.

Morgana pulled away and rested her forehead against Gwens’. “Do you want to go my place? I don’t have a roommate.”

“What are you waiting for?” she teased. “Let’s go.”

They did up their seat belts again and Morgana pulled away from the curb. Gwen fired off a quick text to Merlin so that he’d know she wasn’t dead, then turned her phone off so that she wouldn’t have to see whatever ridiculous thing he decided was appropriate.

It took fifteen minutes for Gwen to realize something very important. “You live nowhere near me, do you?”

Morgana might have been blushing, but Gwen couldn’t really tell from only the light of the streetlamps. She definitely looked sheepish. “Kind of… in the complete opposite direction from the arena.”

Gwen couldn’t help but laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> I could be persuaded to write another fic in this 'verse where they actually play roller derby, so comment if you'd like that!
> 
> 27/5 is a drill in which you're supposed to skate the track 27 times in 5 minutes. Gwen's 22.5 is the same that I did my first time trying 27/5. I've only gotten to 23 but I also only started last February, so I'm pretty proud of myself (and Gwen)! It's a respectable number.


End file.
